OC Film Fiesta launches its fourth annual foray

On Sunday, “Santa Ana Youth and Community Screenings” are scheduled for 2 p.m., followed by the 3:45 p.m. program “Ambulante Mas Alla,” featuring films from Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal’s new indigenous media program and film festival.

Both of those guys are known for movies together and apart, including “Rudo y Cursi,” “Babel,” “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” and “Y Tu Mamá También.”

At 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the OC Film Fiesta will present “Apache Chronicle,” a documentary about five female Apache artists and skateboarders. The big Sunday night film is a bit of an odd choice, “John Carter” at 7 p.m. Yes, that “John Carter,” the one that cost Buena Vista and the Walt Disney Co. about $250 million to make. It was a box office bomb, at least by domestic ticket-sale standards. To date, “John Carter” has grossed about $73 million domestically, with a $30 million opening weekend, according to boxofficemojo.com.

Payan, the festival’s development director, says the movie contains an intriguing, engaging story, and it should have been titled “A Princess of Mars,” which was the original title of the 1917 book by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

While “John Carter” crashed and burned at the U.S. box office, it did well abroad, and was the highest grossing film in Russian history and one of the highest in modern Chinese history, Payan notes.

“It’s a Western set in space,” said Payan, 44. “Critics are saying it was marketed wrong, but its actual audience – it wasn’t marketed towards them. You have brown people in positions of power.” That apparently had resonances abroad, and could have captured an audience among Latinos and other communities in the United States.

Another OC Film Fiesta surprise is “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension” – a sci-fi flick with a protagonist who is half Japanese and travels through galaxies and different dimensions. The 1984 film featured an all-star cast for its time, including Peter Weller (“Robocop”), John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd and Rosalind Cash.

“Buckaroo Banzai” also included Pepe Serna, an actor and Orange County resident who has enjoyed a long career in TV and film, including roles in “Scarface,” “Silverado,” “American Me” and the short-lived TV series, “Resurrection Blvd.” Serna will participate in a Q&A session after the film.

Science fiction is one of the driving themes of this year’s OC Film Fiesta. So are indigenous peoples’ stories.

On Sept. 14, the festival will present a comic fan fest from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and a Philip K. Dick tribute starting at 6 p.m. Dick was a well-known science fiction author and longtime Orange County resident. His novels have been adapted into many successful movies, including “Blade Runner,” “Minority Report,” Total Recall” and “A Scanner Darkly.”

Dick spent much of his life in Fullerton and Santa Ana. His Orange County experiences are reflected in voluminous detail in “A Scanner Darkly,” which became a cult hit film starring Keanu Reaves, Robert Downey Jr. and Winona Ryder.

The tribute will be followed by the Southern California premiere of “Radio Free Albemuth,” a 2010 movie based on the Dick novel of the same name.

“Radio Free Albemuth” is a sci-fi flick that explores a magical, mystical interaction with VALIS, a sort of energy vortex located (by more than one account) somewhere in Garden Grove, near Crystal Cathedral. The movie stars Jonathan Scarfe, Shea Whigham, Katheryn Winnick, Alanis Morissette and Hanna Hall.

The final day of the film fest, Sept. 15, will include the feature “East Los High” at 5 p.m. and conclude with “Alondra Smiles: A Quinceañera Story.” That 7 p.m. movie follows a working class Latina girl who’s on the verge of her 15th birthday celebration. “Alondra Smiles” will be preceded by a quinceañera fashion show.

OC Film Fiesta organizers Sandra Pocha Pena and Victor Payan have put together their fourth annual event which begins on Sept. 6 and runs through Sept. 15. The married couple, who are multi-disciplinary artists and cultural activists, are presenting "Mariachi Gringo" as their opening film. They will also include the documentaries "Our Nixon," "Bringing King to China" and "Apache Chronicle" in their film festival. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A scene from "Mariachi Gringo," which is opening the fourth annual OC Film Fiesta at 7 p.m. Friday. The film won best Mexican feature and best actress at the 2012 Guadalajara Film Festival. Singer Lila Downs is in the foreground, center. COURTESY OF OC FILM FIESTA
The fourth annual OC Film Fiesta will feature a tribute to author Philip K. Dick on Saturday, Sept. 14. PHOTO BY FRANK RONAN
"Alondra Smiles: A Quinceañera Story" is among the movies that will be screened during the OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY ALONDRA SMILES
Organizers Victor Payan and Sandra Pocha Pena are putting on the 4th Annual OC Film Fiesta which begins on Sept. 6 and runs through Sept. 15. The married couple, who are multi-disciplinary artists and cultural activists, are presenting "Mariachi Gringo" as their opening film. They will also include the documentaries "Our Nixon," "Bringing King to China" and "Apache Chronicle" in their film festival. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
"Our Nixon" is among the movies that will be screened during the OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY OUR NIXON
Organizers Victor Payan and Sandra Pocha Pena and are putting on the 4th Annual OC Film Fiesta which begins on Sept. 6 and runs through Sept. 15. The married couple, who are multi-disciplinary artists and cultural activists, stand next to posters promoting their previous three OC Film Fiesta events. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A promotional poster from last year's OC Film Fiesta featured an image of Rita Hayworth. This year's poster celebrating the fourth annual event will be out soon. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Organizers Victor Payan and Sandra Pocha Pena and are putting on the 4th Annual OC Film Fiesta which begins on Sept. 6 and runs through Sept. 15. The married couple pause near a projected image from one of the films. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The first annual OC Film Fiesta's promotional poster hangs on a wall in organizers Sandra Pocha Pena and Victor Payan's office in downtown Santa Ana. This year's poster celebrating the fourth annual event will be out soon. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
"Alondra Smiles" is among the movies that will be screened during the OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY ALONDRA SMILES
"Apache Chronicle" is among the movies that will be screened during the OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY APACHE CHRONICLE
"Apache Chronicle" is among the movies that will be screened during the OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY APACHE CHRONICLE
"Apache Chronicle" is among the movies that will be screened during the OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY APACHE CHRONICLE
"Bringing King to China" is among the movies that will be screened during the OC Film Fiesta. It will run at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7. COURTESY BRINGING KING TO CHINA
"East Los High" will be screened at 5 p.m. Sept. 15 during the OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY EAST LOS HIGH
"East Los High" will be screened at 5 p.m. Sept. 15 during the OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY EAST LOS HIGH
"East Los High" will be screened at 5 p.m. Sept. 15 during the OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY EAST LOS HIGH
"John Carter," the $250 million movie that bombed at the U.S. box office, will be screened at 7 p.m. Sunday during the fourth annual OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY BUENA VISTA
"Mariachi Gringo" is the opening film for the fourth annual OC Film Fiesta. It will screen at 7 p.m. Friday. COURTESY MARIACHI GRINGO
Pictured is the movie poster for "Precious Knowledge," which will screen at 12:30 p.m. Sunday during the fourth annual OC Film Fiesta. COURTESY PRECIOUS KNOWLEDGE

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